For roughly four servings:
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Start with the pan. Once the meat has roasted, pour off most of the fat but keep the browned juices and sticky bits in the tin. That is where much of the flavour sits.
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Make a roux, or leave it out. For a thicker gravy, stir 1 tablespoon of flour into 1 tablespoon of the reserved fat over a low heat. Cook for a minute, until it smells slightly nutty. For a lighter gravy, skip the flour and rely on reduction.
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Deglaze with bone broth. Pour in around 400ml bone broth a little at a time, whisking as you go. Scrape the base of the tin so the browned bits dissolve into the liquid.
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Simmer to thicken. Let the gravy bubble gently for 5 to 10 minutes. It will reduce, the flavour will concentrate, and the gelatine in the bone broth will thicken the sauce.
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Season at the end. Taste before adding salt, then adjust with red wine, mustard, thyme or lemon until the flavour is just right.
That is the whole method. If you are making gravy without pan juices, start with butter and a softened onion, then add flour if you want a roux. Pour in the bone broth gradually and simmer until it tastes properly rounded.
Why bone broth makes a better gravy
The key difference is gelatine, which makes gravy glossier and fuller-bodied. Warmed, it gives gravy a better texture than stock cubes do, which mainly add flavour.
With bone broth, the thickening has more support. Flour is still useful, especially for a Sunday gravy, but it does not have to carry the whole sauce. The result tastes cleaner and less starchy.
Bone broth also gives you more control over salt, so you taste and adjust as you go. That is how you land a balanced, natural flavour that complements the roast and whatever else you add. A rich bone broth for cooking is worth keeping in for gravies like this, and our guide to the best bone broth to buy explains what separates a proper one from a stock cube.
Getting the consistency right
If the gravy is too thin, keep simmering it. Reduction concentrates the bone broth and lets the gelatine do its work. Give it a few more minutes before adding anything else.
For a faster fix, stir a teaspoon of cornflour into a little cold bone broth or water until smooth, then whisk that into the pan and bring it back to a simmer. Do not add dry cornflour straight to hot gravy unless you want lumps.
If the gravy is too thick, loosen it with warm bone broth rather than water. That way you keep the flavour you have built. Whisk as you add it, and strain the gravy if needed to smooth it.
Bone broth gravy also keeps. It sets more firmly in the fridge, which is normal. Reheat gently and add a splash of bone broth if it needs loosening.
The same gelatine that gives gravy its body also lets a one-pan bone broth pasta become lightly sauced, and gives bone broth soup recipes their depth from the base up. For more ways to cook with bone broth, here is the full set of bone broth recipes, or shop bone broth if you would rather pour it straight from the carton.
